Page 29 of Ava Stargazer

Rhutg stood and dusted his big frame off. He nodded and followed her, pulling the wagon for her back down the path toCelestial.

“Rhutg told me I would find you out here.”

Ava peered up at Vox, having planted most of the leftover bulbs in an area with the same orientation as at Rhutg’s house. “Yes. I wanted to plant these. I am saving a few. I’ll bring them intoCelestialand put them in the solarium to see if they can grow there too.”

Vox sank into the ground next to her. He placed a hand on her knee, caked in dirt, and tried to brush some off. “You're planting yourself too.”

She dug her hands further into the dirt as Vox started to help next to her. Ava gave him a lingering look, watching his hands work as he planted next to her. The strength Vox had was evident, even in something as mundane as gardening. Shelooked at the row of planted flowers in satisfaction.First thing I've done on my own here.

“Vox, I am here to help.” A masculine voice came from above, interrupting her thoughts.

Ava looked up to see a lithe Vorbax, more angular than Vox, in front of them, standing tall and proud, his head angled down and regarding Ava with interest. Like Pyra, he wore a necklace, but his only had a gleaming chunk of IO mineral on a string.

Vox got to his feet. “Yes. Ava, this is Zeed.”

Zeed nodded his head in her direction, a bit more than speculation in his eyes as his nostrils flared, breathing in the air around her.

Ava stood as well, brushing off the dirt before giving him the universal sign of deference. “Thank you for coming and helping withCelestial, which I assume ... ?”

Zeed gave a smile and it reached his eyes, taking away from the stiffness his posture still held as he stayed tense and a bit back. “Yes. I wish to assist in any way possible. I have heard of wanting to find more Humans, and I’m interested in helping.”

Ava felt a jolt of excitement.Acceptance? Just like that?“You want to help?”

Zeed looked at her closely, eyes falling on the biologics around her neck. “Yes. I have spent time with Rhutg feeling an echo of your mind.”

“An echo?”

“Yes.” He glanced between Ava and Vox before briefly shining. “But it is different than feeling in person. I can see why. . .Not everyone here is as opposed like the quorum.”

Vox clapped Zeed on the shoulder. “Thank you for coming.”

“Of course.”

To Ava he said. “I will take Zeed to Rhutg and be back, Ava.”

Zeed inclined his head as well, fixing her with an intense stare before turning and following Vox.

Ava sat back and took a bite of the standard ration bar she had brought from the ship earlier for her lunch while she waited, slowly snacking on it until Vox returned and sat next to her on the soil once more. She inclined her head to him while pointing toCelestialwith her bar. “I should go see the changes on the ship. Was Rhutg able to help?”

“Yes, he took my place so I could come out here. I needed a break as well. There’s no rush to go back. The ship is still busy right now.” Vox looked sidelong at the bar she ate. “There’s extra real food inside.”

“I know. I just ... I still like eating these sometimes.” She finished the rest of the bar and rubbed her hands on her jumpsuit. “I collected some more eggs too, they’re inside.” Ava motioned to the yavi trees from the ship’s cargo that were in the garden area, some of them planted. Only a few were left in their containers, waiting. “I didn’t know you had most of them in.” She stood up and pulled off one of the fruits. There weren’t many left now; most had already been eaten, and its fruiting cycle had finished.Tastes even better outside than when I first ate them in the vents.

Vox came over and pulled a fruit down for himself as well. “It is not good for anything to stay uprooted.” He ate it quickly, in four bites, before he picked up a shovel and handed it to her, shaking it so the bit of dirt on it came off. “Here. The others on the ship can manage a bit without me, especially with Rhutg there. His memories of how the panels and everything works onCelestialis actually better than mine. Let’s get the rest of these trees in the ground.”

After a moment of working side by side, Ava knocked elbows with him, pointing to a bird that was close by and watching them plant.

Vox narrowed his eyes and trilled out a whistle.

It sounds just like them.Ava attempted to move her cheeks the same way, but couldn’t make the sound. “How do you do that?”

He chuckled and pinched her cheeks together. She tried to blow again but it didn’t work. Vox’s eyes crinkled as he started to brush her cheeks off. “I got dirt on your face.”

Ava tried to scrub her face as well, but he shook his head, chuckling. “Your rubbing made it worse.” She reached over and left a muddy handprint on his chest. “There, now we match.”

“Match? You’re a mudball. At least you never seem to mind the dirt.”

She put another handprint on him. “Nope.”

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